The Sun Forgets to Shine
by EME6299
Summary: Without Liara, Shepard thinks that the sun forgets to shine. Femshep/Liara. Takes place right after the 'Destroy' ending. My femshep, Max Shepard, Soul Survivor, Spacer, Paragon, Infiltrator. (Rate of M just in case) Fun little chapters of these two, from union to marriage and little blue children.
1. Chapter 1

Shepard tries to move but pain shoots up everywhere. She opens one eye to look around. It was dark, smokey and all she can see was a bunch of rubble. She opens her eyes completely and looks at her body. Her armor was burnt, some of it was melting onto her skin. _I've lost so much blood, how am I even alive?_ She asked herself. Her hands were covered with blood. Shepard tries to move again, but pain once again announces itself. She grabs for her chest in agony. _Damn broken ribs!_ She tests to see if her legs were working. _Barely working, I guess I have to crawl out of this place. I have to get back to Liara. I promised. Shit, I pinky promised! This pinky promise isn't going to be the first one I break!_ Shepard thinks to herself. She starts to crawl. Pain raising up with every move she makes. Shepard gets about three feet until she lays back down. _Damn! I won't be able to make it at this rate!_ Shepard thinks about Liara's face when she told her to leave the battle. The last time she said goodbye. _No! I am not going to leave her with that last memory of me!_ She starts to crawl again. Something had told her that having Liara see her in this state was any better. _At least I will die in her arms than to die alone!_ She gets another three feet and she collapses. She remembers the promise she had made to Liara.

" _Promise me that you'll always come back to me" Liara looks Shepard dead in the eye as she says this._

" _I'll do a lot more than promise Liara" Shepard smiles and holds out her pinky. Liara looks at her hand confusedly._

" _Shepard...is this some kind of human gesture?" Liara looks at her curiously. Shepard laughs._

" _It's a pinky promise. It's a bit childish, I used to do it with my mother all the time when I was a kid. It's basically more than just a promise, If you break a pinky promise then...I don't know_... _hundred years of bad luck?" Shepard smiles. Liara stares at Shepard, not knowing what to say._

" _Okay, how about, it's a thing I do with people that I love" Shepard eggs Liara on to accept her pinky promise._

" _Okay, fine" Liara wraps her pinky around Shepard's. Shepard holds Liara's in place and leans in for a kiss._

" _I love you Liara and I always will" Shepard whispers._

" _I love you too" Liara and Shepard kiss passionately._

The memory fades away and Shepard opens her eyes again. _I have to make it! I have to...wait a minute!_ Shepard finally realises she can try to signal for help with her omni tool. She activates her omni tool. _Broken as hell, but I think I can still manage to get a signal out._ She tries for the comm system. All she hears is static on her end.

"Hello?" Her voice was hoarse. Lack of water and being blown up will do that to a person. She tries to clear her voice.

"This is Commander Shepard, I am in critical condition and need a immediate medical attention. Come on, anyone out there!" Shepard almost starts to cry. She was starting to think there wasn't any hope for her. No hope for getting back to Liara.

Then she heard something through the static. She couldn't make it out but she knew it was someone.

"I repeat I need immediate medical attention! I lost a lot of blood and I'm about to...I'm about to…" Shepard was starting to feel dizzy. She was going to pass out at any moment. She heard more inaudible voice through the static. She activated a beacon as soon as she could then passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten Months Later~

"Miranda, I'll be fine. Don't you remember Omega's only rule? Nobody fucks with Omega or Aria for that matter" Shepard winks at Miranda while strapping on her last piece of new armor. The armor was specially designed for Shepard. N7 headquarters had sent it to her as a thank you gift for saving the galaxy. It had extra padding and a new thin layer that will reduce any melting. The N7 emblem was shining on her chest to the left. She had retractable claws on her gloves which she thought was really cool. From what she had told the headquarters, they decided to give her small thrusters on the back of the armor. Just in case she gets spaced, again. Her helmet was improved, better computing system for aiming and analysis. As 'the cherry on top', they included a 2 year warranty. _Classic N7._ Shepard smirked to herself. Miranda shook her head in frustration.

"Well then I should go with you. You never know if your implants will give out or something" Miranda was insistent.

" _Well_ Miranda, that all depends on Aria's opinion. Last time I went to Omega with Aria, I had to leave my whole crew back at the Citadel" Shepard shrugged.

"Yes, I did hear about that. I also heard that you and her crash landed on Omega in escape pods while getting shot at by very powerful laser cannons that Cerberus had installed" Miranda said sarcastically.

"How did you know about that?" Shepard gave Miranda a confused look. Miranda just laughed.

"You'll say anything when you're drunk, Shepard" Miranda smiles at her. Shepard rolls her eyes at Miranda.

"Okay, so maybe having a little back up to a boring routine 'mission' won't be too much of a problem" Shepard picked up a pistol she had on her medical bed and put it in a new holster N7 HQ had installed on her new armor. The holster locked the pistol in place. _Just in case huh?_ Shepard snickered.

"Can we just talk about how you're going to _Omega_ straight after you got the Okay to be released from the hospital? Mind you, some of your scars hasn't healed completely!" Miranda points out some of her fresh scars she had on the side of Shepard's head. Her hair had to be partly shaved in order to cut off any bleeding. Eventually she had a new haircut to make it equal on both sides. Now she has two sides shaved and two inches longer hair in the middle. Shepard hasn't had this short hair since her N7 training.

"As I say for the fifteenth time, Miranda. I will be fine!" Shepard picks up a bag full of stuff she had collected from all the 'Get well soon' and 'Thank you' gifts she had received while in the hospital. "Speaking of which, if you're coming with me, then carry this" Shepard handed the heavy bag to Miranda.

"You are unbelieveable Shepard. I guess I don't want you to strain yourself before you leave the damn room" Miranda lifted the bag, slung it over her shoulder and started to leave. Shepard looked around the room to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She picked up her helmet and inside was a picture of Shepard kissing Liara, tucked in between some fabric. Liara was blushing in the photo which made Shepard smile like an idiot.

"I miss you so much Liara. I won't stop until I find you. I owe you that much" Shepard whispered to herself.

"Shepard are you coming or what?" Miranda yelled out from the hall.

"I'm coming!" Shepard smiled one last time and put her helmet on. The helmet seem to beam up with life. She walked out of the medical room and looked at Miranda.

"Really? Your going to walk out of here with your helmet on?" Miranda raised her eyebrow.

"Sure, why not? Look, if no one sees my face, the better chance we'll get getting out of her alive. With all those dumb reporters everywhere. Shouldn't they know by now that I do not like cameras in my face?" Shepard's voice was coming out of some small speakers more or less on the sides of her helmet where her mouth should be. Miranda gave a agreeing look at Shepard and pressed on through the hospital doors. Shepard kept up with Miranda by her side. Some of the light through the big glass windows were hitting Shepard's armor making it shine.

As they made their way to the front lobby, there were a few reporters sitting in the waiting area. Shepard walked up the the asari working on her computer at the desk.

"Uh, Hi. Dr. Mitchell cleared me for release. If you could be quiet as possible that'd be great. My name is Shepard" Shepard whispered as quietly as possible so that the reporters wouldn't hear her.

"Certainly. It seems that Commander Shepard isn't released yet. Maybe soon?" The asari clerk winked at the Commander. Under Shepard's helmet she smiled.

"Oh okay, thank you. Have a good day" Shepard walks away with Miranda pass one of the reporters. As soon as Shepard wasn't in direct sight, she legged it to the elevator and hit the button.

"What was that all about?" Miranda asked.

"Those reporters have ears like a damn elephant. If they heard that it was me, we'd get swamped" Shepard replies as Miranda steps into the elevator with her.

"What, those reporters are dumb enough to realise that the one in N7 armor is anyone but Commander Shepard?" Miranda laughed.

"Either way, I don't want to wind up in the hospital bed for another day" Shepard presses the button on the elevator for level 1.

"So where is Aria meeting you?" Miranda asked curiously.

"The docks. She got a ship together and since the mass relay is working again, we'll be able to fly to Omega. Sort of" Shepard stretches her arm.

"What do you mean sort of?" Miranda looked at her with concern.

"Well, there isn't exactly a straight shot to Omega. We'll have to travel to the Caleston Rift, then from there travel to Omega. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. But we could be prepping to be sleeping in some stasis pods for the rest of the trip to Omega"

"Sleeping pods?!" Miranda gasps.

"I hope you love zero gravity as well. We're going to need to save as much power as we can for this trip if the engineers don't fix the next relay in time" Shepard folded her hands.

"The engineers? Shepard, you're a good friend, but are you sure you haven't lost your mind completely?" Miranda gave Shepard a narrow look.

"I'm getting there day by day, Miranda. Yes, the engineers. I knew about this trip for at least a month after the sol relay got fixed. The council gathered as many engineers they could gather and fixed the sol relay. Then they split up those few and sent them to key points in the galaxy to fix those key point relays. Pretty clever, if they succeed. One of those key points is the one we're going to. Then we'll either have to hike it to to Omega or easily sail to it. We're going to Omega either way" Shepard smirked under her helmet.

"And what is in these 'key point relays' Miranda quoted.

"There's quite a few colonies at the one we're going. I suppose the council would want colonies to get new supplies in as soon as possible to those colonise. It has two stations that I know of...the relays there link up with many different areas in the traverse. It just seems logical. The other engineers are going to the Horsehead Nebula to fix that relay. They'll be able to get more help from Sur'kesh if they go to the Annos Basin. But from there, they go onto the Serpent Nebula. Fix the Serpent Nebula, then you will be able to get to some of the other council homeworlds" Shepard goes on.

"I suppose that makes sense" Miranda replies as she and Shepard finally gets to step off of the slow elevator. First thing they see was Bray waiting near a skycar. Shepard waves at him, he nods and opens the door to the skycar. Inside Aria was waiting in the back seat.

"What took you so long?" Aria demanded.

"The fucking elevator. Damn thing is so slow" Shepard says as she climbs in.

"I don't care. I see you're making this into a field trip" Aria looks at Miranda who was handing Shepard her bag.

"I hope you don't mind too much. I need her along just in case things get dicey on the trip or on Omega. You know, because I just came out of the hospital just a few moments ago' Shepard smiled at Aria.

"Fine, but I hope she can pull her own weight" Aria smiles devilishly as Miranda hobbes in besides Bray.

"Oh I can" Miranda snaps back.

"Aria, how do you think I am even alive if any of my friend's can't handle any heat?" Shepard asks.

Aria sighs. "This is going to be a long trip. Brey, step on it" Aria commanded. As soon as she did the skycar flew off.


	3. Chapter 3

_Shepard found herself in darkness. She looked around to find nobody in sight. The empty void became cold and lonely to her. Then in the distance she saw a blue light she could barely make out. Something in her told her to run towards it and so she did. She ran and ran as fast as she could towards the light. For a moment it became bigger, she felt hope. Shepard felt as though the blue light was Liara. She called out to the light. "Liara. Liara!" Unfortunately, the blue light began to dim. She ran harder and faster towards it. The more she ran, the dimmer the light became. Eventually the light faded and Shepard stopped in her tracks. She was once again in the dark and she felt more alone as she ever did._

"Shepard! For god's sake, wake up!" Miranda shoved her and Shepard awoke with a start. She looked around and found that she was in her designated sleeping pod. Her head and face was soaked with sweat, her vital machine were beeping it's head off. Reality was slowly slipping back into her brain. Miranda was in front of her with a concerned look.

"I...I'm fine. Nightmare is all" Shepard whipped her face with her hands. She noticed that she was trembling.

"More than just a bloody nightmare, Shepard. You were starting to call out" Miranda cursed.

"What was I saying?" Shepard tried to shake off the tiredness.

"I wasn't sure, you were in your pod afterall. It was muffled" Miranda shrugged.

"Well, that's good. Where are we?" Shepard says as she started to get out of her pod. She was in her jumpsuit that she wore under her armor.

"Omega" Miranda smirked.

"Wait, already?" Shepard asks, already looking at her omni tool. "It's only been 2 days!"

"The engineers you mentioned fixed the relay in the rift. We decided to keep energy as much as we could just in case. So we left you in there to sleep" Miranda drifted to the heart rate machine to turn it off.

"Jesus Miranda. Fat lot of good that did" Shepard shook her head.

"We'll be docking pretty soon, I suggest you prepare for artificial gravity again" Miranda pushed herself towards the floor and activated her mag boots.

"Wouldn't want to get slammed to the-" Shepard was immediately cut off by a voice from the intercom.

 **Artificial Gravity in effect.**

"-Ah fuck!" Shepard falls a good 3 feet to the floor. She groans in response.

"I told you, didn't I?" Miranda walked over to Shepard, deactivating her mags.

"Yeah, a little bit too late though" Shepard looks up at her narrowing her eyes at her.

"Hey, you clowns ready?" the voice came from the doorway of the ship. Aria T'loak did love to see Shepard getting herself slammed up against something it seems.

"I forgot my clown outfit back on Earth" Shepard joked. Aria shook her head at her.

"Too bad. The show must go on. Come on" Aria turned around and walked out.

"Tough crowd, huh?" Shepard smirks.

"Only for you Shepard" Miranda snaps back whittly.

"Ouch. Your words hurt me Miranda" Shepard winked as she got up.

"Poor baby" Miranda had the last laugh. She turned to follow Aria. Shepard looked out of the window to see Omega pass by them. She didn't quite fancy being on Omega, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing. She walked out of the pod room and straight for the armory.


	4. Chapter 4

Happy New Years! Hope you like this chapter! And as always, enjoy!

* * *

 **~On the Normandy, Present day**

Tali'Zorah paced in the small hallway between the elevator and the captain's quarters. She was thinking on how to convince Liara to come out of the room that she had locked herself in. Liara needed to get out and eat something. Hell anything was better than moping around all day and night. _Maybe I could tell her that...no that would probably piss her off._ Tali thought to herself, thinking really hard and what she could do to help her grieving friend. Everyone on the ship was taking it hard. They were glad that they had won against all odds, but at the cost of losing the one they all know and loved. Everyone had thought that Shepard is long gone. Unfortunately, Liara was in between. Her mind wanted to believe everyone else, but her heart told her otherwise. Tali had to do something for her friend who was in so much pain. To Tali, Liara wasn't just someone who she had fought with on the battlefield, she was family. _Right, here goes nothing._ Tali walked up to the captain's door and gently knocked. No response. She tried a second time. Nothing. She knocked even louder the third time then she heard Liara yell for her to go away.

"Liara, you do know that I don't need you to unlock this door for me to open it right? I am an engineer after all" Tali clearly stated. Once again she heard silence. She sighed. "Okay, don't tell me that I didn't warn yeah. I'm coming in so I hope to ancestors you're descent" Before Tali could apply a application on the door's combo lock the door swished open. Liara was standing before her with Shepard's N7 jacket on and red teary eyes.

"What do you want, Tali?" Liara asked kind of quietly, trying not to make eye contact. She had her hands in the jacket's pockets. She was remembering every touch of the jacket, remembering what she had left.

"We just arrived on Omega. Thank boshet too, we were running on fumes before we got here" Tali tried to joke. Liara didn't even crack a small smile. "Anyways, I thought that you would like to get some air for a few hours. Perhaps get something to eat, you look like you need it" Tali suggested.

"I'm not hungry" Liara started to turn away but Tali grabbed her arm gently.

"Liara, we may not have known Shepard like you did, but she was our friend too. Everyone on this ship owes her our lives. We owe her to take care of you as well. She wouldn't want you to starve to death" Tali insisted. Liara sniffed a little, trying not to cry more.

"How would you know?" Liara snapped back.

"Because she cared about you more than anything. She would've thrown everything away for _you_! She did all of this for you Liara. She knew that if she had failed, that there were worse things than dying. She would never want you to experience those things. She loves you Liara. Even now, I bet you where ever she is, she's smiling like the idiot she always was" Tali was almost about to cry as well. Liara looked at her for the first time, small tears running down her cheeks. She then gave Liara a big huge that you could. Tali, totally surprised by this, padded her on the back.

"If we are going out though, you should probably shower" Tali smiled behind her mask. Liara gave her a small smile back and nodded in agreement.

Aria, Miranda and Shepard had made their way through Afterlife. Aria had stopped outside of the huge nightclub that she claims as her castle.

"You guys can come back later if you want. I have to do a few things first. I need to adress to my people" Aria looked up at the big screen that was a pinkish red with a asari dancing, forever looping around a pole.

"Alright. I think we'll go find some grub. I am starving!" Shepard rubbed her stomach.

"Tell me about it" Miranda agreed.

"See ya later Aria" Shepard half saluted and proceed to walk to the markets with Miranda. Miranda was right beside Shepard.

"Remember the good days when we were hunting down Mordin and Archangel?" Shepard smiled.

"'The good days'? Shepard there was a plague where Mordin was and Garrus was surrounded by the three biggest merc groups on Omega. I wouldn't exactly call that good days" Miranda shook her head. Shepard laughed.

"I did hit my head pretty hard didn't I?" Shepard pointed to her helmet that she had on.

"Yes, but I think that's normal for you" Miranda joked.

"Normal for _us_ , remember? I think you're just as crazy as I am to be friends with the deadliest son of a bitch in the galaxy" Shepard winked.

"I believe you all too much Shepard" Miranda pointed at the noodle shop tucked in the corner through all the market shops. They made their way over to one of the tables outside of the shop. They sat down at the table and almost as they did a hanar came up to them.

"What would these two want for lunch? This one recommends something human meals" The hanar glowed as it talked. _What a good idea having a hanar as a waiter. Multiple tentacles for multiple dishes I suppose._ Shepard thought to herself.

"I'll have the chicken noodles with some toast please" Miranda smiled at the hanar.

"Really? I didn't think you for a chicken noodle kind of gal Miranda. I'll have top raman if you have it. Beef please…or is it roast? I don't remember, surprise me" Shepard smiled.

"Very well, do you wish some liquid while you wait?" The hanar shook as it asked.

"Oh yes, do you have human soda called Dr Pepper?" Shepard asked giddy.

"This one does. What would you like miss?" The hanar looked over at Miranda who was thinking kind of hard.

"Milk will do" Miranda quickly decided. The hanar bowed and walked to the kitchen in the back of the shop.

"Man, you never cease to surprise me Miranda. First chicken noodle, and now milk? Who has milk with soup?" Shepard questioned.

"Unlike you, milk is pretty healthy when it comes to calcium. Which you would do well to remember Commander. You did break every bone in your body when the collectors killed you in the attack at least twice" Miranda smirked.

"Not my skull though!" Shepard wittily replied back.

"As far as you know" Miranda leaned back in her chair when the hanar walked back up to the table and sat down their drinks in front of them.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Shepard said in a higher pitch of tone.

"Oh, nothing" Miranda picked up her cup and sipped her milk. Shepard shook her head in disbelief. Inside her helmet her small computer picked up something in the background behind Miranda. The computer zoomed in and identified a certain person that Shepard automatically recognized.

"Oh my god, Miranda!" Shepard gasped. Miranda sat her drink down with concern.

"What is it? Did your implants fail?" Miranda asked.

"No. It's James! James Vega, my LT!" Shepard couldn't help but stare in utter disbelief. Miranda turned around and focused in on the Lt.

"Oh yeah. If he's here then wouldn't that mean that your ship is here on Omega as well?" Miranda looked at Shepard who she can only imagine had her jaw dropped to the floor. All Shepard could do is nod in response. Miranda turned back around to see Vega getting closer but unaware of the both of them.

"Lt. Vega! Over here!" Miranda waved at the beefy dude. He waved back and walked over to the table.

"Miranda! Mierda! What are you doing here on this hell hole?" Vega excitedly completely blind to the person in the N7 armor who was obviously his apposed MIA Commander. Shepard couldn't believe her eyes.

"Came here with Aria. They got a few relays up and working. Unfortunately, the engineers had just started working on the relay here. So we're stuck here for a while until we can get back to the Citadel" Miranda shrugged at the notion of being stuck on Omega. _You have got to be fucking kidding. My own lt doesn't know that I'm sitting right in front of him. I thought I had taught this jarhead better?_ Shepard huffed thinking to herself.

"Well, at least that's news for us. We just got here a couple hours ago. We were running on fumes on the Normandy. Some of us had to go into hibernation. Say, who's your friend here?" James leaned on the table a bit. Shepard shook her head at Miranda. Then she held out her hand to give James a handshake.

"Well, you can call me Lola" Shepard shook James hand, smiling big behind her helmet. James had a confused look on his face, trying to put things together.

"Lola...huh...I know a person who I call- wait a minute!" James jumped. Miranda burst into laughter almost spilling her drink. Shepard stood up and gave Vega a half hug.

"I'm one indestructible soldier Vega. You should know this" Shepard took off her helmet to show that it was really her if there was any doubt.

"Increible! Oh boy, when blue hears about this she's going to freak!" Vega padded Shepard on the shoulder.

"Speaking of which, where is she? I've been missing her everyday since...well certain doom. I'd very much love to surprise her" Shepard winked.

"Let's see. I think sparks wanted to get her off the ship to get something to eat. The doctor hasn't left your cabin hardly at all since" Vega explained.

"Wait. For _ten months_ she locked herself in my cabin?!" Shepard said worryingly.

"Not really. Only to get some food from the mess late at night or to get something from her cabin" James rubbed the back of her neck. Suddenly, Shepard felt a pain in her chest while hearing this. _My poor girl. Goddamnit! She's been grieving me? Again!? Fuck, I might be the worse bondmate in history!_ Shepard cursed to herself.

"Where is she now? Do you know? Please James. I need to know where she is!" Shepard insisted.

"Shit, I don't really know Lola. I could call Tali" James activated his omni tool and started to call Tali. The omni tool buzzed and buzzed until a mask was on screen.

"This better be important James" Tali finally spoke.

"It is. Where are you right now? Are you with the doctor?" James asked.

"Yes, we're heading to the taxis right now. In front of Afterlife in fact. Why do you ask?" Tali seemed confused on why James would be asking about their whereabouts. Before James could reply however, Shepard took off running. She shoved through Omega's huge crowds.

"-wait! Aye, you guys need to stay put where you are. You got a surprise heading your way" James clicked off his omni tool. By the time he looked up, the Commander was long gone. He looked at Miranda, not knowing what to do with himself. Then the hanar came back up to the table.

"Would the other one like a to-go bowl?" The hanar asked Miranda.

"Might as well" Miranda shrugged, finishing off her milk.

Tali stopped in her tracks, making Liara stop as well.

"What is it?" Liara asked curiously.

"I don't know. It was James, he sounded excited. He said that there was a surprise heading this way" Tali deactivated her omni tool.

"Goddess Tali, I cannot deal with any surprises right now" Liara started to walk away towards the cabs but Tali jumped in front of her stopping her.

"Liara, don't be like this. A surprise will be good for you" Tali smiled behind her helmet. As Liara started to say something she saw someone standing still a few feet from them. Then she realised.

"That _boshet!_ That wonderful boshet!" Tali cursed under her breath. Liara looked at her confused.

"What? What is it Tali?" Liara looked at her for an answer.

"Turn around Liara" Tali insisted.

"Tali, if the whole crew is behind me about to cheer me on for whatever reason, I swear to goddess I will-" Liara got interrupted by the sudden twist by Tali. Turning her a 180 to the person who was watching them. At first Liara didn't recognize the woman in front of her. She almost blended in with Omega's crowds in the background. Then it hit her and oh boy did it slap her in the face. She found that she started crying again. This time, it was tears of joy.

"Shepard!" Liara cried out. She ran towards her bondmate.

"Liara!" Shepard could barely speak her name. She started running towards her as well. She too found that she was crying. As soon as they reached each other, they hugged in a tight embrace. Liara had almost knocked both of them over, but luckily Shepard had held both of them up on impact. Liara buried her face in Shepard's shoulder, as did Shepard as well. Onlookers passed by them with confusion on their faces, not bothering to learn why the crying women were hugging. After some time of hugging, they both parted a little so they can look at each other.

"Liara, I...I am so, _so_ sorry" Shepard confessed trying to wipe a watery eye.

"What do you have to be sorry for, Shepard? You're the biggest hero in _history_ as of now" Liara corrected while holding her lover's face, studying it to make sure it was really her or if this was somehow a taunting dream.

"No, I'm not sorry that I destroyed the blasted reapers. They can go rot for all I care. I'm sorry for leaving you in more pain than I ever went through after the beam!" Shepard looked into those beautiful blue eyes that she loved to stare at. Just as Shepard did, Liara looked into those green eyes she always seemed to get lost in.

"Shepard...now that the reapers are gone, you have the rest of your life to make it up to me" Liara teased stroking Shepard's short hair in the back. Liara gave her a big smile. Shepard laughed a bit then leaned in for a kiss that both of them was yearning for.

Meanwhile in the background was a crying quarian recording the whole thing with her omni tool. Her helmet seemed to be filling up with tears. She was always a hopeless romantic.

"The crew is going to melt when they see this!" Tali sniffled. Shepard broke their kiss and looked over Liara's shoulder to Tali. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"TALI!" Shepard almost pounced on Tali like a leopard if it wasn't for Liara holding her still.

" _Commander_ , I wasn't finished with you" Liara looked at her bondmate with dreamy teary eyes. Liara gently pulled her face away from Tali and learned in to kiss Shepard. Shepard almost resisted but unfortunately for her, Liara had seemed to put a spell on her. _Spell or not, I won't ever complain. I'm hers forever. No matter who knows about us. The whole damn galaxy can know about us. I don't care. I don't want for our relationship to be in the shadows anymore._ Shepard thought to herself. As if Liara was inside her head listening, Liara smiled through their kiss. Shepard had smiled back and both of them couldn't help but giggle like children.


	5. Chapter 5

**6 months later~**

Shepard played some old Earth music from her stereo controller on the side of a wall in her Citadel apartment. Since Earth is very much still in ruins and they weren't using housing as a direct priority. Shepard has to decide to live in her apartment on the Citadel that could house a small family. _Or my crew for that matter._ Shepard chuckled at the thought remembering how a lot of her crew members slept in the oddest places in her apartment the last time they threw a party. _Certainly not the last party we'll throw._ Shepard started to drift off into space but she remembered she was preparing for a certain someone to come home. Shepard had told Liara that her home was Liara's. Of course to Shepard, being a spacer kid all her childhood she figured wherever Liara is, _was_ home for her. Shepard had sent Liara to get some things from the local market so she could surprise Liara with a nice dinner. She already had all the ingredients to make the food. Actually, it was Mac & Cheese, you hardly need anything real difficult to cook it. Shepard went into the kitchen to check on the big silver pot on top of the oven. The pot was filled with hot boiling water. Shepard picked up the box that was filled with Macaroni and pour it into the boiling water. Then she set the timer on the oven for 9 minutes. She got two big bowls from the top cupboard and walked over to the kitchen table to set them down dianal to each other. Usually Shepard is used to being at the very end of a table, but since it's Liara she would have to make an exception. She got some handtowls and sat them neatly besides the two bowls. Then she went over and grabbed some forks. _Ah._ She had almost forgot, a lot of people used spoons to eat this sort of stuff but not Shepard. She uses a fork for almost everything. Not sure whether Liara would prefer a spoon or a fork she got both for her. Shepard had walked over to the fridge and got out a hidden bottle of some fine champagne to put on the table. The doorbell rang which almost made Shepard jump. She looked at the oven timer, four more minutes. Then a voice came towards the door, Liara had barely opened the door.

"Shepard, would you mind and take some groceries?" Liara shouted from the doorway. Shepard walked hastily towards her. Liara was glowing blue, she was using her biotics to carry some of the heavy bags in.

"Sure thing babe" Shepard grabbed the bags floating in the air and Liara stopped glowing. The both of them headed to the kitchen.

"Shepard...are you actually cooking? You do remember the last time?" Liara teased. Shepard narrowed her eyes at her bondmate playfully.

"I wasn't...exactly used to making eggs. You gotta give a girl _some_ slack. Besides this is something completely different. This is a meal that I know you will love" Shepard smiled at Liara. She shook her head in response. Then she looked over to the kitchen table.

"And I suppose you gave me something to do so you could 'surprise me'" Liara sat the rest of the bags on the floor in the corner.

"I was...am. Still can't surprise you with anything" Shepard struggled with her words. Then she remembered the timer. She rushed over to the oven and turned it off. She reached into a lower cupboard to get a drainer to put in the sink. Shepard had stirred it before picking up the heavy pot and poured everything into the drainer. The water slipped through the tiny holes of the drain while the macaroni stayed inside the drainer. She then picked the drainer up and poured the macaroni back into the pot. Shepard had put the pot back onto the stove and grabbed the package of yummy liquid cheese and cut it open at the top. Then she pours that into the pot. Before she threw the packet away though she used her thumb to push out any cheese that was left and ate it. Liara gave her a confused look but also a curious one.

"What? I love cheese" Shepard gave Liara a toothy grin. "Now, sit your sweet blue ass that I love so much over at the table. I just have to stirr this and it'll be ready"

"Hmm" Liara smiled and obeyed the Commander's orders. She took a seat at the head of the table and watched her bondmate cook for her. She was certain that Shepard doesn't cook for anyone else but her. Which made the act sentimental to Liara. Shepard made Liara feel special. As if she was the most beautiful asari in the whole galaxy. In Shepard's mind, that was for a fact.

"Okay hun. The best dinner you'll ever have in your life. At least when it comes to human food…" Shepard shrugged as she sat the hot pot underneath a rubber circle laid out on the table. "I'd suggest you try some before you take a whole bowl. You know, just in case" Shepard took her fork and stabbed a few macaroni that was covered in cheese. Then she held it for Liara to try. Liara smiled before taking her offer.

"I can feed myself babe" She teased.

"Taste it" Shepard insisted. Liara ate the macaroni from the fork and started to chew. Her eyes widened.

"Goddess, Shepard, that is really good!" Liara exclaimed.

"Ha, see I can cook. Even if it came out of a box" Shepard pridefully said. Liara took the big spoon for scooping and poured a good size into her bowl. "Are you sure you don't want a little more? I can eat a whole box of this stuff" Shepard joked but also serious.

"I'm good. Have at it love" Liara took her fork and started digging in. Shepard chuckled as she poured the rest into her bowl. She took the champagne, popped the cork and filled both of their glasses. Liara certainly looked to be enjoying herself. _All according to plan._ Shepard smiled at her accomplishment.

"So Shepard, what is the occasion for this wonderful dinner?" Liara asked as she sipped on her champagne.

"Well, I know how stressful you have been with your work and I've been caught up in some more political bullshit. This is a nice dinner with the one I love very much so we can both get some air from everyday life" Shepard gently laid a hand on top of Liara's free hand. Liara still couldn't help blush at the nice thought.

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble. We could've just ordered something to be delivered" Liara insisted.

"Oh, but what would be the fun in that? This is way more romantic" Shepard grinned.

"I suppose you're right" Liara ate some more of her macaroni. Shepard looked at the painting hanging on the wall. She had to do it. She had to take her balls out of her purse, as Jack said to her a few days before. Liara looked at Shepard who wasn't smiling anymore. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, uh, there's actually something I want to tell you...er...ask you actually. It's nothing bad. More nerve racking at the most" Shepard stuttered. Liara, now curious, had her full attention to Shepard. "Ah shit, I faced down a damn reaper and I can barely do this. What a 'fearless Commander' I am" Shepard fished out a small box from her cargo pants. She then scooted closer to Liara who now had wide eyes than before.

"I've known you for more than...well for a very long time. No one else knows me like you do. You accept me for who I am, more than just what's on the surface. There is no one I'd like more than you to spend the rest of my life with. I've been wanting to do this for a very long time. Liara T'soni, would you marry me?" Shepard put the box showing the ring inside in front of the teary eyed asari. Shepard held her breath and her tears.

"Shepard! By the goddess! I don't know what to say!" Liara gasped.

"You can say yes?" Shepard joked. Liara smiled and nodded as she threw herself into Shepard arms. _Fuck yes!_ Shepard cheered inside her head. Even though she knew the answer already, she was still nervous as all hell. Finally they can start their lives together. Shepard buried her face into Liara's shoulder and hugged her tightly. After some time, they parted a little. Shepard wiped some tears from Liara's cheek. They both smiled in silence. Shepard took the ring from the box and put the ring on Liara's ring finger. Liara looked at the beautiful ring happily.

"The ring has been passed down from my great, great grandmother. Before the human race began traveling to Mars. That stone in the middle, as you probably already know, is a emerald. Since you like my green eyes so much, I figure, you'd like it a lot more" Shepard explained, not knowing how to proceed with everything that just happened.

"Oh Shepard, it's wonderful! Thank you. I mean it, thank you for being my wonderful bondmate. I couldn't ask for anyone better" Liara said sincerely. Shepard kiss Liara on the forehead that made Liara feel giddy.

After a while of sitting together at the dinner table eating and drinking a bottle together. Liara took her Commander's hand. Shepard gave her a mischievous look. Liara then beckoned for her lover to follow. Shepard obeyed her wishes and followed her upstairs where their room was located. As soon as they were inside, Shepard locked the door behind her just in case. Liara led her to their bed that they have been sharing. She laid down in the middle of the bed and Shepard continued to follow suit on top.

* * *

They lay there in the dim light in their room. Slowly coming down from the high that they both just experienced. Their minds were still connected.

 _Did we just…?_ Shepard thought.

 _We did._ Liara replied.

 _We're going to have to think of baby names._ Shepard chuckled.

 _I like the one you're thinking right now._

 _Oh? Which one is that?_

 _Ashley or Ash for short._

 _Name her after Williams. She'd be honored._

 _We'll add it to the top of the list._

 _Absolutely. We're going to be parents and be married or as you put it, 'bonded'. That seems more of our taste I think._

 _Hmm._ Liara agreed sleepily. Shepard pulled up the blankets to Liara's shoulders. She knew Liara would be more exhausted than usual. She thought that Liara should sleep in as long as she wanted to.

 _As long as you sleep in with me babe._ Liara protested teasingly.

 _Whatever you want, I will give. I love you Liara._

 _I love you too._ They then kissed each other goodnight and soon fell asleep. Shepard still couldn't believe that they were going to have a baby together. Not just any child, her child as well. Her own child was currently growing inside the love of her life. That very thought made Shepard sleep easier than she ever did since joining the Alliance. _Life was beautiful._

* * *

I know, I know. I ain't exactly good at creating good smut so I just left that part out. I may eventually write it down the road. But it is what it is for now. Also, college started back up again so hopefully that won't affect the amount of time between these chapters. If it does, know that I am probably busy. I'll most likely be writing on the weekends. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also who doesn't love mac and cheese, okay? xD


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the long wait on this one! College started back up, recently bought some cool stuff, etc. At least it's longer this time! I decided to finally introduce Hannah Shepard. Also I used my femshep's first name a lot because you wouldn't know which Shepard was which xD I also tried to add some more humor in here. I'm not Joker though so sorry. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and stay tuned!

* * *

Shepard was looking at recent alliance reports on one of her recliners near her office in her apartment. She had on some black N7 sweats and drinking sweetened coffee. One report caught her eye, one that had mentioned the SSV Kilimanjaro. The ship had recently reported back to the Citadel after helping rebuild major key points on Earth. _Shit. I suppose I have to message her, I haven't talked to her since before we made our final push. I'm sure by now she knows that I am alive._ Shepard rubbed her neck, uncertain what to talk about in her message. _Oh god, does she even know if Liara and me are a thing? I'm sure she knows...but then again...ahh!_ Shepard sighed in frustration. She sat there for a good minute trying to put her thoughts together until a pair of blue hands wrapped around her neck. As if she was gently removed from deep thinking and into peaceful bliss. Liara always seemed to have a knack for getting the commander's attention when she needed it.

"Hey love" Shepard rubbed one of Liara's arms up and down with one hand while the other still had the alliance report.

"Good reading?" Liara teased.

"Undoubtedly a understatement. The Kilimanjaro is docked at the Citadel surprisingly. I haven't seen my mother in ages. The thing is, I don't think she knows about me and you" Shepard says as she lays the datapad on the coffee table in front of her. Liara walks in front of her and snuggles on right on top of Shepard. In response, Shepard wrapped her arms around Liara to make sure she wouldn't disappear.

"Not a lot of people know that I'm pregnant, Shepard" Liara replies.

"No, I'm not talking about that. Although, she certainly doesn't know about the pregnancy. I'm talking about us. She doesn't know that I even have a girlfriend to purpose to. Shit, I think she still thinks that I'm still into guys. Which I'm so not but she doesn't know that I'm not. I hope you know where I'm going with this cause I don't" Shepard says admittingly and they both laughed.

"Well, now would be a good time to tell her. She's bound to find out eventually. I also would love to meet the woman who raised the love of my life!" Liara kissed Shepard on the neck which made her smile big.

"I suppose you're right. I should invite her here. Besides, she's probably on leave. She would enjoy seeing her child again while she's here. I'll message her to come here later. In the meantime, we can take advantage of this wonderful moment" Shepard looked down at Liara with a mischievous smile.

"Hmm..and how did i know you were thinking that" Liara got close enough to Shepard's lips, but not touching.

"I can show you how" Shepard smiled and stole the first kiss.

 _Hi Mom, Max here._

 _I saw on a report that your ship is docked on the Citadel. Is that current news? I was wondering if you have time to come over and visit me. I have some news to tell you, something that I need to tell you in person instead of message. It's nothing bad, but for now it's a bit secretive. Besides, we haven't seen each other since...well ever. I'll be good to catch up. I'm sure you still have dozens of questions about my recent 'adventures'. If you want to call fighting impossible machines an adventure. I really do miss you. Hell, I worried about you everyday since everything went downhill. Think about that, Commander Shepard, savior of the Citadel is worried about her mother. Well, I suppose anyone else in my shoes would be too. Anyways, if you're on leave I'd very much like to see you before you ship out again. I'm attaching a navigation to my apartment on the Silversun strip if you do decide to come over. I love you._

 _~Max Shepard_

Shepard sat there in her desk chair, reading her message over and over. She wanted to make sure that the message was just right before sending it. _Fuck it!_ She finally pressed the enter button on her private terminal that which sent the message. She leaned back in her chair trying to make herself relaxed. Five minutes later she got a new message. She sat up in her chair and read the screen.

 _Replied message:_

 _Hi Maxine!_

 _Oh it's a wonderful idea, my dear! I'll be over there in an hour. It will be so thrilling to see you again. It will be so nice, me, you and no ranks in between us. Deal? Talk to you when I get there. Love you!_

 _~Hannah Shepard_

Shepard had actually smiled in joy in the hopes of seeing her mother again. She couldn't exactly think of the last time she saw her. It was longer than she liked, she had to admit. Now all she could do it wait anxiously for her mother to arrive.

 **An hour goes by…**

Shepard steps out of her main bedroom drying her hair with a towel. _I sure hope I smell better._ She smiles to herself, knowing her mother's keen senses to every little detail. Maybe it was from the years of being in the military that got her so observant. She looked at her outfit before heading downstairs. She wore a tank top with some sweats. Hopefully her mother wouldn't mind too much, she did say no official business allowed. She shrugs and heads downstairs. First thing she saw was Liara greeting an older female human at the door.

"Mom!" She shouts as she walks towards them.

"Maxine! My baby girl!" Hannah walked straight up to her and gave her the biggest hug a mother can give. Max burried her face in her shoulders like she used to when she was a little girl. After what seemed like minutes go by they parted to look at each other. "Look at you! All those scars from that damned war" Hannah rubbed some scars that were visible on Max's face.

"Mom, there not that bad! Besides I kinda like them" Max smiles.

"Obviously you would like scars. You're like your father. You always seem to get a new scar every time I see you and you flaunt them like a trophy" Hannah proceeded to her daughter's kitchen to sit a bag down that she brought with her on the counter.

"Can't argue there…" Max agrees giving Liara a small smile. Liara shook her head at her teasingly.

"Anyhow, I got you a few things in this bag here. Good lord, is there a bathroom?" Hannah almost jumped when she remembered she had to go.

"To the right and across the hall. What are these?" Max went over to the small bag on the counter as Hannah rushed to the bathroom. Max started to look inside and she saw there was a small box. She took it out and flipped it over. _Condoms._ The commander's eyes widened to the size of melons.

"Uh...mom? What is this?" She asked. She heard her mother laugh a little bit. _Was this a practical joke or what?_ Max thought.

"They're condoms dummy! It's for you and your boyfriend!" She yelled back. That made Max drop the condoms on the counter. She looked at Liara with wide eyes, Liara had a smirk on her face for some reason or another. Max shook her head and mouthed 'She doesn't know' to Liara. That made Liara smile even more.

"Mom. Who the hell do you think is my boyfriend?" Max asked with all the might she could.

"That one Major, I believe. That's on your crew? Oh, I think he's the second human spectre!" Hannah struggled to remember. Max could hear her flush the toilet from the kitchen. That didn't matter, she was more confused as ever.

"Why the hell would you think that him and me was a thing?" Max asked hunching over the box of condoms on her counter.

"You were praising him a few years ago when you were first made spectre. I just assumed" Hannah was washing her hands in the bathroom across the hall. Max closed her eyes in disbelief.

"Mom, we are most definitely not dating. I am dating someone completely different. In fact, there was some things I needed to tell you. One of the reasons why your here is to tell you in person" Max leaned up against the counter as her mother re-entered the kitchen.

"Really? I thought...huh. Well, who are you dating then?" Hannah looked at her daughter with curiosity.

"The only alien in the room, mom" Max smiled towards Liara. Liara blushed slightly as she did.

Her mom gasped which made Max tense up. "An Alien! I was really off then? I'd never thought you would be interested in Aliens. Although, I suppose it somewhat made sense when you were growing up. You were quite interested in them" Hannah smiled and walked over to Liara. She took Liara's hands gently. "You look absolutely stunning, doctor. No wonder my child took a shine to ya" Hannah winked at Liara.

"Mom!" Max objected slightly. Liara and Hannah both laughed.

"Oh, don't pretend that you don't appreciate a good looking woman!" Hannah turned around at her blushing child.

"I purposed to her" Max said bluntly looking down, blushing even more. The room went silent. Max eventually looked up to her mother who had her jaw to the floor.

"Oh honey, that is the best news I ever heard since you were accepted to the Alliance academy!" Hannah was about to hug her when Max stopped her.

"There's more" Max said. Hannah's eyes widened even more. "We're having a baby as well. Before you even ask, Liara is the one who's pregnant. The all mighty Commander Shepard is too chicken for that" Max joked. Hannah squealed with excitement. She hugged Max as hard as she could, nearly crushing her lungs.

"My grandchild is going to be Asari!" She then hugged Liara, only more gently.

"You're taking this pretty well" Max said trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, I'm not like _my_ mother honey. She's going to flip when she finds out" She parted with Liara and smiled at Max who was surprised.

"Grandma is still alive? How the hell is that possible? How old is that woman anyways? Is she immortal or something? How did she survive the war? Oh wait, I think I know. The reapers got one look at her and pissed themselves as they left her alone?" Max went on. Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Yes she is. I'm not sure how that is possible and she's 101. She has lived through two wars now. I hope she isn't immortal…" Hannah trailed off. Max huffed at the news.

"I thought this would be good news honey" Liara finally spoke.

"Eh, not when it comes to grandma Shepard. No offense mom, but she's really xenophobia. Oh no, does she even know that I work with aliens?" Max asked.

"Most certainly. I got a pretty good earful when she found out. I believe she founded out when you first became spectre. She said something about the birds fucking something I don't think I should repeat" Hannah shook her head.

"Of course she did. You know, I'm not even sponsored by the turian councilor. I'm sponsored by the Asari. As of now, so is Kaidan" Max noted as she put the bag of god knows what else in a drawer so it will be out of site, just in case.

"I didn't know that" Hannah looked at Liara, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not public knowledge. Not really. As soon as they re-instated Max, humanity had a councilor by then. So her sponsorship got transferred over to Udina. Unfortunately, that didn't last very long" Liara explained. Hannah listened carefully and nodded here and there. Then she got curious and asked,"Hey, why did you get re-instated in the first place? I thought you would stay spectre even if you faked your death. It wouldn't be public knowledge either but even still" Max cursed under her breath then sighed.

"I got re-instated because I didn't 'fake' my death" She said admittingly. Confused, Hannah cocked her head a little.

"What do you mean?" she asked, afraid of the answer to come.

"I mean, my ship got attacked by the collectors. You read the reports of them, yeah? Well they attacked my ship, completely destroyed it and I ended up spaced. I suffocated to death as I was burning into the atmosphere of the nearest planet" Max let it all out bluntly.

"But, you're here, breathing in the flesh!" Hannah said with a worried look. Max chuckled in response.

"Yeah, you're not going to like the next part. Cerberus managed to bring me back to life. It took two years but they did it. Afterwards, I hunted the bastards who did it and I planted a big ass bomb in their base. No more collectors" Max went to her fridge and got out a soda can.

"Cerberus!? But they are a bunch of terrorists!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Yes, I know. The second that I was done with the collectors, I cut ties with them" Max tried to explain.

"My girl worked with terrorists" Hannah breathed.

"Mom, if Liara didn't hand my body over Cerberus, I wouldn't be standing here today. None of us would be! She saved me. Not just from the collectors too. I don't know how she does it sometimes, but she managed to keep my shit together throughout the war. When I'm with her, I forget all the shit that happened to me during these past years" Max had tears forming in her eyes. Liara smiled and went over to her to hug her. Max embraced her automatically, burying her face in her shoulder. Hannah sighed in defeat.

"I'm sorry honey. I didn't know" Hannah looked at the two of them as they parted from their hug. Then she looked at Liara. "Thank you for saving my daughter. For _all_ the times you have. Consider yourself a Shepard, Liara" She smiled at her soon to be daugher in-law. Max and Liara both smiled. "And same speech for any of the boyfriends my girl ever had-" Hannah tried to say.

"Oh no, mom!" Max tried to hide her face in Liara's shoulder again.

"-break my daughter's heart, and I'll break something in you" Hannah continued.

"Thanks mom. Thanks for that...really" Max put a arm around Liara and pulled her close to kiss her on the side of her head.

"Break Liara and I'll break you, _Rear Admiral_ " Max narrowed her eyes at her mother.

"I figured it wouldn't take you us very long to pull rank on each other, _Commander_ " Hannah winked at Max with a smile. _At least we're honest with each other,_ Max thought.


	7. Chapter 7

Shepard never thought this would ever happen to her. Of everything that she went through, nothing had prepared her for this. Liara and her had gotten bonded/married not that long ago, as far as Shepard's memory goes. She could remember Liara mumble under her breathe at the center of the attention how she thought her baby bump was showing and all the matriarchs could see. Shepard smiled at her ridiculous assumption, even if it was true. Shepard had no doubt that no matter how big she got Liara was still beautiful as ever. Thusly, she reminded her of this which made her blush a little too much at the ceremony.

Liara was at the apartment when she finally went into labor. Unfortunately, Shepard was at the human embassies sorting some things out in place of Admiral Anderson. When she got a call from Glyph that only meant one thing. Shepard dropped everything and rushed over to the hospital to meet up with her bondmate. In the meanwhile she messaged some of their friends to meet them up there too for emotional support. _Just in case my sanity fails me,_ Shepard thought as she sent the messages.

Shepard finally steps out of the elevator and rushes towards the front desk.

"Hi, uh, my bondmate just went into labor…" she says to the asari desk worker. She nodded and told her to follow her. They eventually got to a room to find Liara with Glyph trying to comfort her. Shepard immediately went over to her lover to take her hand.

"Shepard! Thank the goddess you got here in time." Liara winced at a slight pain. Shepard tried to smile.

"You know me, never really late for anything. Besides, do you really think I'd miss my daughter's birth?" Shepard joked.

"Very funny- Ahh!" Liara screamed at the contraction that was coming. Then Dr. Chakwas walked into the room.

"Hey doc!" Shepard tried to say as Liara was crushing her hand. The doctor smiled at both of them and pulled up a seat in front of Liara.

"Hello Commander. How is Liara doing?" Chakwas asked as she lifts up the blanket covering Liara. Shepard looks at Liara instead of the doctor. Not that she never saw a vagina before, it was because she was the only one who actually saw this one in particular. She tried not to think about it, she was sure it was a stupid to think of anyways.

"Oh you know, fine for the most time. She went into labor!" Shepard joked. Liara gave her a narrowed look.

"I see that. Commander if you could come over here and help me…" Dr. Chakwas grabbed her arm and Shepard let go of Liara to see what the doctor meant. One look of what was down there gave the Commander a whiter color to her face. The doctor, of course, started laughing. "Gotcha" She managed to say under all the laughter and padded her on the back. Shepard walked back over to Liara and buried her face in the asari's shoulder.

"You two, I swear!" Liara rolled her eyes. Shepard said something that was muffled. Probably trying to defend herself. Then Liara started having another contraction. Shepard gained color and started holding her bondmate's hand again.

"Breathe love. Everything's going to be okay." Shepard said calmingly, rubbing Liara's crests. "Doc what's the status?" She asked.

"She's going to have to push pretty soon" Chakwas answered as she was prepping for the little one to come.

"Okay love. You can do this. _We_ can do this" Shepard kissed her forehead.

"Shepard, I'm scared" Liara said admittingly.

"When has that ever stopped you? Everything is going to go fine. Soon we'll have our little girl in our arms and we'll be two crying parents" Shepard joked again trying to sooth her hurting bondmate.

"Okay" Liara leaned towards Sheard trying to withdraw any strength she can give her to get her through this.

"We're going to push on the count of 3, okay? 1…..2….3!" Dr Chakwas extended her arms near Liara's part. Liara started screaming which made Shepard feel helpless. All she could do is be there for her.

 **Later**

"Shepard! She's beautiful!" Liara exhaustedly exclaims. Shepard smiles at her newborn daughter all wrapped up in a blanket.

"Well she certainly looks to have her mother's looks" Shepard kisses Liara gently on her crest. Liara chuckled at the statement.

"She certainly have your eyes" Liara examined her daughter. Shepard looked at the tiny asari's eyes that were water but clearly green.

"She does! How about that?" Shepard smiles big.

"I wanted her to have your eyes. I love them so much" Liara gently wipes off some tears off of her daughter's face.

"We'll have to give her a name." Shepard suggests the next step to Liara.

"Hmm...I like the one you thought of" Liara looks at Shepard dreamily.

"You mean you want to name her Ashe?" Shepard asked, Liara nodded in response.

"We'll name her Ashe, after Lt. Williams" Liara looked at her beautiful daughter again. Shepard smiled.

"Hi Ashe." Shepard gave the baby her pinky finger that the small asari barely could grab. Shepard then remembered. "Oh Liara, May I?" She asked.

"Sure babe" Liara handed Ashe over to Shepard who was extra careful not to drop or break the tiny asari. She thought she was so fragile. Shepard walked out of the small room and into the waiting room. There was half of the Normandy crew waiting there.

"Hey, guys! I'd like to introduce your new crewmate. Say hi to Ashe!" The commander announced to her friends. Tali was the first one to jump up. The quarian squaled in excitement and walked up to them. Then everyone was walking up to her with awe on each of their faces, greeting the new family member. Shepard already got protective when Wrex walked up. Not that he would hurt her on purpose, but as a big Krogan, Shepard knew he wasn't exactly a gentle type.

 **That Night**

Liara and Shepard was laying in bed with their child in between them sleeping like, well a baby. Liara did everything to make sure the Ashe was comfortable.

"Babe, you must be exhausted. You only have a couple of hours of sleep back at the hospital". Shepard kissed Liara's crest.

"But-" Liara tried to object. Shepard looked her in her eyes.

"Sleep babe. She'll be here when you wake up" Shepard insisted. Liara huffed in defeat.

"Fine" Liara closed her eyes and in minutes she was asleep. Shepard smiles at the sight in front of her. _My family at last. Totally worth it._ Shepard thinks to herself. Finally after all they fought through, this was completely worth it for Shepard. To be right here, snuggled to her family. She liked the way that sounded. _Family._


	8. Chapter 8

A sweet short chapter before Valentine's day, hope you guys enjoy. My midterm is here and it's being a bloody midterm so fingers crossed.

* * *

 **6 months** **later**

 **~Shepard's apartment on the Citadel~**

The clock read 3 am in the morning. Shepard rubbed her eyes at the bright clock. She then heard another cry from the other room. She rolled over in the nice warm bed to see her wife dead asleep.

"I got this one babe", she whispered as she kissed Liara's forehead. As if she was awake the asari adjusted in the bed as she continued to sleep peacefully. Shepard managed to stumble out of bed and walk into the hallway. She followed the somewhat silent cries of her child. She walked into Ashe's converted baby room. The little asari had a globe that projected the stars as a nightlight. Her father's idea obviously, her being a spacer kid her whole childhood. She was used to watching the stars out her window until she fell asleep. At the time, Liara just smiled at the commander for being nostalgic. Now, both of them really like the idea of putting this little gadget to their child's room. Shepard walked up to Ashe's crib sleepily. Inside was a sobbing reddish nose asari baby. The commander took pidy as her as she always did and picked her up. Routinely, she checked her diaper but there was nothing inside that would make her upset. "What, did you have a bad dream little one? Your ol' pop gets those too sometimes. You know what makes it all better though? Your momma. Yeah, your momma can do miracles. You're proof of this. Want to go snuggle with momma? She's asleep but I don't think she'll mind", Shepard smiled at the sleepy eyed asari who calmed down for the most part after her father mentioned her mom. Shepard had kept saying that Ashe was her momma's girl afterall. Though a bond between a child and their mother is hard to break sometimes.

When they walked into their main bedroom, Shepard laid Ashe on the bed next Liara. Then she crawled back into her side of the bed with Ashe in between the two of them. Sleepily, Liara cracked one eye open to see what was wiggling in her bed. As soon as she saw Ashe, she scooped her up close to her chest. Shepard thought it was one of the most adorable sight she ever saw. She smiled sweetly at the soon-to-sleeping two. After a few moments go by, Shepard finally whispers to Liara. "She had a bad dream. I figured if you can help me with my bad dreams, you can too with Ashe" She kissed her lover on her crest and she got a smile in response.

"My poor baby. Mommy will protect you from the monsters" Liara kissed her daughter's tiny crest and Ashe gave her a soft baby noise. Soon after everyone was asleep in each other's arms.


	9. Chapter 9

Shepard was shivering and wishing she could be inside the nearby fighter base where it was warm. Her hands were practically numb even through her new armor. It had little thermal material, like most do. She had previously thought it would be no big deal being out in the cold but now she is starting to regret being so smug. The Normandy was orbiting Noveria as she is on the planet helping set up a few things on the fighter base that the Alliance took during the war from Cerberus. Everyone had their doubts that they would want to take this place back but security still ran a bit high. That was why Shepard was on a snowy hilltop laying down with her Black Widow in front of her. Admiral Hackett had requested for her to cover some engineers who needed to fix some communication towers. She wasn't sure what the hell they were doing, she didn't care at this point. She was too freezing to care. Shepard had been up on the cliff more than she'd like at these temperatures. Her breath seemed to turn into icicles instantly. Just as she was about to radio the engineers she got a blip on her omni tool. _Liara._ She had been a bit worried since Shepard had gone down to the planet alone. Shepard clicked a few buttons on her omni tool and Liara popped up on the screen.

"Hey babe! Calling already? Nothing I can't tell you that I've already told you a few hours ago. Same old, same old. Still sitting on a bloody cliff freezing my ass off. I think at this point, I don't have a ass to speak of" Shepard said sarcastically.

"Yes, I'm calling already because we're worried about you. We don't want you to get hurt or catch frostbite. Or worse, what if Cerberus comes back looking to take the base back?" Liara started to ask frantically. Shepard rolled her eyes.

"Liara , I will be fine. No one can see me up here. Before they even realize that there is a sniper, it'll be too late. Besides, Cerberus might as well try to take over a rat's nest. They'd have better luck. With that in mind, I'm sure Joker would let me know if there were any unwelcomed ships in the area. Frankly, I'm more worried about these damn corporations trying to boot us out". Shepard gritted her teeth as she looked through her scope to see if the engineers were done yet. They weren't.

"Don't underestimate Cerberus. I'm sure you know where that will lead you. The corporations on Noveria has agreed to let the Alliance stay as long as they don't get in their way. Publically, they rather have the Alliance here than Cerberus" Liara informed Shepard. She started to bounce Ashe on her knee that made her giggle.

"What about unofficially? Lemme guess, they didn't give two shits about Cerberus either way cause most of them are racist against humans anyways. Nevermind that one human that saved them from a Rachni infestation on one of their facilities" Shepard muttered some curse words under her breath.

"They're just jealous because they don't have someone as talented as you are on their workforce. Also Shepard I thought you were alone up there?" Shepard looked up from her scope in confusion from that last statement.

"I am alone. No one knows that I'm up here except for the engineers and I can still see them through the scope" Shepard checked her scope again to make sure. Then Liara yelled, "Shepard! Behind you!". Shepard reacted and turned over on her back to see some white armor with a sword. Before the figure could thrust the sword into Shepard, she moved more to the edge of the cliff. The sword went straight through the snow and hit some ice. She had a chance, Shepard kicked the figure in the head as hard as she could. She tried to stand up but her rifle had fell over the cliff in the scormish. Suddenly she saw that the cliff started to crumble beneath her. She tried to move away but was too late. She fell over the cliff with her attacker following the same fate.

 **Later on the Normandy**

Shepard had finally sat down with some hot cocoa in the mess hall of the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas gave her a thermal blanket to stay warm. Liara was continuously hugging her bondmate to keep her warm regardless. Shepard sipped some of her coco as James walked into the mess hall.

"Holy shit, Lola! Word spreads real fast around here. One question though, how did you survive?" The lieutenant smiled as he sat down across from her. A few more crewmen walked in as well. _Oh good an audience._

"How do I always survive, Vega? Through pure, unadulterated luck!" Shepard held up her cup of cocoa as if it was a shot glass. Some of the crewmates smiled at her comment. Joker walked into the kitchen area and snorted.

"The only reason why she's still here is because she's immortal. Call it my own conspiracy theory but I don't think it's entirely untrue, considering what the Commander has been through". Joker grabbed something from the fridge and sat down at the table. Shepard gave him a toothy grin in response.

"No, really Lola. How _did_ you survive a sheer drop from an icy cliff?" James insisted in Shepard telling the juicy story.

"Well, after the stupid phantom stuck her sword into the ice, it set off the ice to break in pieces. When I hit her in the head I thought I would have enough time to retreat from a safe distance. I thought wrong, obviously, I fell off the cliff. Fortunately, whatever god there is, likes me enough to land me in some soft snow. Only I was kind of buried by the time the engineers got to me. I'm not too sure what happened to the Phantom other then she was captured by reinforcements. I'm sure she was more scraped up than me" Shepard touched her nose that had a good size cut on the bridge of it. Liara kissed her on the cheek to make her feel better.

"Yeah, that's definitely luck right there" James agreed with his commander.

"Only, next time, let's _not_ retrieve our Commander out of cold snow" Garrus piped in as he walked towards them from the main gun room.

"I'll try to remember that the next time I'm on an icy cliff and I'm fighting for my life" Shepard said defensively.

"I'm just lucky I warned you in time" Liara snuggled her face into her wife's shoulder. Shepard smiled.

"Yes, you are certainly one of the best sniper look outs in history. Thank you love, for once again, saving my life" Shepard kissed Liara's hand. Then everyone heard the little footsteps running towards the mess hall. Shepard turn around to see her daughter bouncing in place with excitement. "Ashe! Come to daddy! How's my big girl doing?" As soon as Ashe ran up to her, Shepard swooped her up in her arms and kissed her all over her face that made her giggle.

"Doing good, actually. I was surprised that she wasn't concerned when she saw her own father fall to her almost certain death" Tali noted.

"I'm sorry but I didn't know that I was going to fall. It's not like I planned on it. But oh, wait, you guys still bring up the sushi restaurant. Don't you?" Shepard sighs. "Never going to hear the end of that"

"No, because who falls through a fish tank on accident?" Joker smiles at Shepard.

"He got a point Lola. Normal people don't fall through fish tanks on a normal basis. In fact, they also don't fall over a cliff on accident either" James teasingly said. Shepard narrowed her eyes at James.

"Well in that case, I'm not normal. Nor, do I want to be normal. Also, I didn't see any of you out on an icy cliff freezing your balls off. No, I had to do it all by myself" Shepard tried to defend herself.

"You don't have those honey" Liara mumbled.

"Gee, thanks for the loving support" Shepard teased at the comment.

"That's what I'm here for" Liara looked up and kissed Shepard to end the conversation.


	10. Chapter 10

**Earth- New small orbiting station- SSV Normandy assisting in repairs.**

Shepard puts her helmet on and walked into the airlock of the temporary station that was orbiting Earth. She looked at her omni tool and pulled up some exterior schematics of the station.

"Okay, hopefully this won't blow me up" Shepard says over the communication piece in her helmet. Miranda closed the airlock behind Sheperd.

"It wouldn't be the first time. If you follow the instructions, there shouldn't be any troubles" Miranda reassures her friend.

"Yes well, the last time I got blown up I nearly died...or did" Shepard tried to remember.

"Oh you're talking about when you defeated the reapers. I was talking about when the collectors docked you" Miranda teased.

"Oh ha-ha. I don't think anyone is going to live that down" Shepard protested. From nowhere, they both heard another woman clearing her throat. "Especially you Liara. I don't blame you, but still" Shepard says in response.

"I should be going with you out there Shepard" Liara tried to convince her bondmate.

"Too risky Liara. Your armor isn't equipped with thrusters. Take my advice, you do not want to get spaced" Shepard made it clear to Liara.

"I would be tied to the Normandy. Besides, you hardly know what you're doing" Liara insisted. Shepard wasn't having it.

"Liara, if anything happens to the both of us Ashe is going to raised by your father. No offense but I'm sure you don't want that more than I do" Shepard reminded her.

"Shepard you use that excuse every time! I can take care of myself and you need to be less protective!" Liara argued.

"I'm only protective because I love you and if anything happened to you I'm not sure if I would be able to carry on without you" Shepard explained as the exterior airlock doors swooshed open. Then another voice came through the comm.

"Hate to break it to you love birds but this isn't exactly a private comm" Joker reminded the both of them. Shepard sighed through her helmet.

"And I hate to do this-that's an order Liara" Shepard cursed at herself for saying it. She didn't exactly like to order Liara around anymore. She did what she had to though. Liara was still part of the crew in her defense. That didn't stop Liara scoffing when she gave up and got off the comm.

"Doing okay Shepard?" Miranda awkwardly asked.

"No, but thanks for asking" Shepard replied, climbing on the outside of the station's exterior. From her view, she saw Earth surrounded by its 'neighbouring' stars and the nearby sun. Shepard loved space, she loved watching the stars slowly go by. When she was real young, she used to think that there was nothing beyond the station she was born on. The day she figured out that she was wrong, had always intrigued the young Shepard. Now, it was still a beautiful sight to see. It was the reason why she loved being on ships and stations, there was almost always a big window to sit in front of. Shepard shook her trance and climbed some more. Eventually she got to this control panel that she pried open. Once it was free, she saw a whole bunch of wires that was protected and held in place in a complicated way. She brought up her omni tool to look at the instructions.

"Shepard, remember to replace the blue colored wire. Carefully, mind you!" Miranda announced over the comm. Shepard smiled.

"Ever told you that I was color blind?" Shepard pulled the blue wire as hard as she could.

"Shepard, you know damn well you're lying. I spent two years working on you and to think I'd miss a tiny detail like that?" Miranda joshed at Shepard.

"Eh, you gotta give a girl some credit for trying" Shepard shrugged. Suddenly Shepard heard a loud bang to her left. She looked to see Liara suited up and clinging to the outside of the station. She gasped. "Liara! I told you to stay on the ship!"

"You did. You forgot a tool though" Liara pulled out a device that helped put wires back into tight places. Shepard sighed heavily.

"Are you at least tied?" Shepard examined Liara to see a cable hooked to her belt.

"Obviously Shepard" Liara said sarcastically.

"We're going to need to talk later. _In private_ " Shepard took the device from Liara and used it to replace the wire in the control panel.

"Fine" Liara agreed.

"Miranda, did that do the job?" Shepard asked over the comm.

"Yes but we got some bad news. You guys got incoming! Watch out for debris!" Miranda announced quickly. The two of them looked to see some small shrapmetal started floating past.

"We need to get inside! Now!" Shepard ordered.

"Shepard! There's a- AH!" Liara tried to say but then got caught off when a big piece caught Liara's line.

"Liara!" Shepard activated her thrusters and flew towards her. Once she got to her she wrapped her arms around Liara's waist and with her omni knife, cut the line. Liara wasn't responding. Shepard's armor thrusters stopped them from floating away.

"Commander? Are you guys alright?" Joker radios in over the comm.

"Yeah! I think so. Liara's unconscious, alert Dr. Chakwas. I'm coming in" Shepard informed Joker. Shepard had one arm under Liara's back and the other under her knees. Her thrusters counterbalanced the two towards the Normandy's main airlock. The light that was coming from the airlock surrounded both of them. Only Shepard's red striped going down her right arm and the lights on her back was barely showing. Then slowly the Normandy's airlock doors closed behind them.

* * *

Liara woke up to find herself in a bed that wasn't hers. It took her a while to realize she was tucked neatly into her lover's. She tried to sit up but her head wouldn't let her. She groaned in response.

"Take it easy Liara" Shepard said as she sat beside her on the edge of the bed. Liara relaxed as much as she could.

"What happened?" Liara managed to say.

"The debris that headed straight for us, caught your line. I had to cut you lose. I assumed that the debris hit your line hard enough for you to hit your head on something. Your helmet cracked but not enough to break all the way through. I brought you into the Normandy after that. Dr. Chakwas took a look at your head and decided you were well enough to let you sleep somewhere more comfortable than a medic table. Your lucky" Shepard explained handing her a cup of cold water. Liara took the offer and sipped it. After a moment of silence she decided to say something.

"Shepard, I'm sorry for disobeying your orders. It was unprofessional of me and you were right. If anything happened to both of us, Ashe would be alone, besides from my father" Liara tried to apologize. Shepard held up her hands and smiled.

"Liara you don't have to say sorry to me. I can be a little too protective sometimes. I love you and I'd be damned if I let anything bad happen to you. If I am being too protective, just saying something and I'll try to lay off" Shepard admitted, rubbing her neck. Liara gave a small smile.

"You're not _that_ protective. I understand that you want to protect me and I want to protect you. Although I forget sometimes that you are a soldier. I'm not, I'm just a scientist who pretends to be" The doctor half heartedly said. Shepard laughed.

"No, your not. You're the most bravest person I know. Would a regular soldier be able to save me from collectors?" Shepard joked. Liara chuckled.

"I suppose not" Liara gave her cup of water back to Shepard who sat it on the bedside table. Shepard then laid her head down on Liara's chest. Liara automatically embraced her bondmate. She began to run her fingers through Shepard's hair. After a few quiet moments, Shepard finally gathered her thoughts.

"I love you Liara. Ashe is proof of this. I don't want her to grow up without her mother" Shepard looked up at her wife.

"I love you too, and I as well don't want her to grow up without her father" They both smiled. Shepard sat up a little and started to kiss Liara. Then they heard a knock on the cabin door.

"Who is it?" Shepard yelled.

"Hanar special delivery! Who else do you think it is?" a voice came from behind the doors.

 _Aethyta, of course it is._ Shepard thought as she rolled her eyes. Then they both heard a small voice.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the small voice called out. That instantly brought a smile to Shepard's face. She hopped up from the bed and practically skipped to the door to unlock it. The doors swished opened, there was Liara's father holding hands with a small 3 year old asari.

"Ashe! Hey baby girl!" Shepard excitedly said. Ashe let go of her grandpa and ran to her father's arms who swooped her up easily.

"Daddy!" Ashe hugged Shepard's neck as much as she could with her tiny arms. Shepard gave her small kisses on the side of her crest which made the little one giggle. Aethyta waved at the three and went back to the elevator. Then Shepard finally spoke, "So how did it go with grandpa?"

"It was great, Daddy! Grandpa got me a toy!" Ashe said as she held up a small alliance fighter model for her to see it.

"Wow! Well if you look at that, my daughter is going to have a better collection than her old pop!" Shepard teased.

" _Daddy!"_ Ashe smiled. Then she looked over to Liara who was still in bed sitting up. Ashe gasped when she saw Liara's head had a bandaid on her crest. "Momma! Is momma alright? Is she, daddy?" Ashe worriedly asked. Shepard smiled and walked over to the bed with the small asari wiggling in her arms.

"She's okay Ashe. Mommy had a accident that's all. She bonked her head but luckily your dad saved the day" Shepard couldn't help but gloat a little as she sat Ashe down on the bed. As soon as Ashe got on the bed she crawled to Liara and hugged her tightly.

"Shhh, it's okay darling. I'm okay. Daddy kept me safe. As she always does" Liara smiled and hugged her child closely. Shepard smiled at the both of them. _I'll always will. That's the one job I will keep,_ she thought to herself. "I suppose I should thank my hero" Liara teased at her bondmate.

"Well, in old human fairy tales, the damsel always kiss their hero as a thank you present" Shepard gave her a toothy grin as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Of course they do" Liara said sarcastically. Their lips finally collide for only a moment until a small one made a disgusted sound. They both parted and looked at Ahe.

"Oh and I suppose you want a kiss too? _How about a hundred little kisses!"_ Shepard

started tickling her child which made her giggle uncontrollably. As she did this she gave her a whole bunch of kisses. Liara couldn't help but laugh and enjoy the sight in front of her. _This is why I found so hard for,_ she thought.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the wait! Started up spring term as well as other stuff I'm sure that's boring. This was a rough chapter that I'll have to edit afterwards. Anyways, here ya go! Also thank you guys for the support, every fav or follow gives me the encouragement that I need to make a new chapter! So thank you so much to all whom read my story. I know my grammar or writing skills isn't top notch but thank you regardless!

* * *

Shepard was working hard on her terminal at her cabin desk. She was working on a couple of detailed reports that she had to send to Admiral Hackett. It was mostly updates on how rebuilding efforts were going on Earth. Of course, admiral was practically in charge of the rebuilding efforts. The only ships that were available in was Alliance ships and citizen ships. He was trying his best to get some help from the other council races but they had their own problems with rebuilding from the blasted war. _You fix one thing, another needs fixing_. Shepard thought to herself as she drank her hot coffee. She looked over a few of her reports at least three times before sending them to Hackett. She laid back in her chair expecting a message back at any moment. Fortunately, for her, she had her lucky moments and was correct on when she would get a reply. A message popped up from Admiral Hackett.

 **Re: Commander Shepard**

 **Sub: Reports on rebuilding.**

 **Commander, I've received your reports and will read them later. Unfortunately, there is a situation brewing I would like to warn you about. Nothing too serious. Watch your tone of voice when trying to speak to an alien or a crewman who doesn't know basic English. Recently, our translators had gone offline. That causes some problems between species alike. If we do not know what we are saying to each other, negotiations will be difficult to say the least. It's going to be damn charades if we don't get these translators back up and working. Be cautious commander. I'm sure you might have it a bit harder than most captains when it comes to talking to crewman. You might want to pass the word on the best you can.**

 **~Admiral Hackett, 5th fleet**

Shepard's eye brows raised after she read the message. She knew the translators has been glitching since the end of the reapers but she didn't think they would just give out right from under them. She then saw that she had another message. _Traynor_

 **From: Specialist Traynor**

 **Sub: Translators**

 **Commander, our translators are not working! We're trying to get them back up but I don't think we can. At least not without communication from our greatest engineer. (Don't tell Engineer Adams I said that) As I said, we're try our best. We also cannot communicate with the others as well as the crewman who don't speak English. Any suggestions?**

Shepard sighed in frustration. Why would this happen now? She put down her coffee and started typing.

 **Re: Specialist Traynor**

 **Sub: Translators**

 **Just keep calm Traynor. Just because we don't know what we're saying to each other doesn't mean we'll cause some cross species incident with each other. I'll see what I can do with communicating with our fellow alien buddies. I'm sure they're having a field day by now.**

 **~Commander Shepard**

Shepard finished her coffee and headed out of her cabin. Once in the elevator she pressed the button for engineering deck. She wasn't sure where Tali was currently but she was most likely in engineering. She was almost as bad as Garrus when it came to the main guns. Once the elevator landed at her destination she took a corner then into the main center of the deck. She was then greeted by Adams.

"Commander, I'm sure you're aware of what's happening?" Adams asked.

"Yes. Such a convenience isn't it?" She answered sarcastically which made Adams laugh.

"You can say that" Adams pointed towards the reactor core where Tali was working on a terminal. The commander walked towards her.

"Tali, I know you can't understand me right now but we're going to do our best to fix this stupid situation" Shepard said as Tali turned around to face her. All Shepard heard from her was, 'Kealah' and a string of words that were foreign to her. Eventually they just stared at each other not knowing what to do or say. Finally, Shepard gave a heavy sigh. _Goddamn Charades._ She thought to herself, remembering what Hackett said in his message. She got out her omni tool and pointed at it. Then she pointed at her mouth hoping Tali would get the message. Luckily, she didn't recruit Tali for nothing. Although, she was still 95% sure that Tali got the message that was trying to be sent to her. Tali in response, pointed at her terminal and gave the commander a thumbs up. Tali then turned around and started back to work on her terminal. Shepard did the same and came up besides Adams.

"Well...I think she got my message. Though, until we get this stupid thing fixed, there's going to be a lot more awkward conversations between crewman. Consider yourself warned, Adams" Shepard said to the chief engineer.

"I'm sure we'll manage, Commander. Isn't the first time I didn't understand someone of a different species" Adams tried to reassure the worried commander with a grin. Shepard nodded in response and headed out of the engineering deck. She got back into the elevator and went up to the mess all. Before she took one step out of the elevator, a certain asari was in front of her. _Oh shit, I didn't think about this. Why didn't I remember that my own wife is an alien who didn't speak complete english? Fucking idiot as usual Max._ They both stood there looking at each other not knowing what to say. _What do I say? What can I say? This woman knows me better than anyone in the entire galaxy and yet we don't understand the words the naturally come from each other. Fuck._

"Uh..Liara. Huh...Cabin?" Shepard tried to ask. Liara gave her bondmate a confused look. Shepard tried again. "First floor? Uhh...shit I sound so stupid" Shepard facepalmed. Eventually all she could do is laugh. Liara looked at her smiling which made Shepard gently grabbed her arm and pull her into the elevator. She hit the button for the 1st floor. She was then sure that Liara knew what she was trying to say. When they finally got to the cabin, the real fun began. Shepard leaned up against her desk. "From all of our meldings together, how much do you know?" Shepard asked honestly.

"I know only a little, siame" Liara confessed, moving closer to her wife. Shepard had only heard Liara say that name a few times while she was around her. One time she even asked her what that meant in asari.

 _The two of them were breathless, lying in bed together after an adventurous night. Liara laid her head on Shepard's chest to hear her favorite music playing from inside her bondmate's chest. The thump thump thump of her beating heart always made Liara remember why she was fighting the reapers in the first place. Of course, possible extinction to all life as she knew it was a good enough reason to fight against the chaos for anyone. For Liara, her reason to fight was lying in bed with her. She looked up at her lover's eyes that was fighting off sleep._ She looked so peaceful when she's like this. _Liara thought or perhaps it was Shepard thinking this, she could not tell who thought of this for which they were still in a meld. She knew that she agreed, none the less._

" _Shepard, you are my siame" Liara spoke outside of the meld. She could sense that Shepard's brain turned trying to figure out what that meant and why her translator didn't translate that._

" _What does that mean, exactly?" Asked looking back at her. Liara chuckled a little._

" _The roughest translation I can think of is 'one who is all'. The one who is cherished above all others. It is usually used towards certain family or bondmates. That is exactly how I feel about you, love. Cherished. My most cherished thing in this galaxy. I savor every sweet moment I have with you. Even when we're on duty, I cherish every second I'm around you". Liara explained. Shepard could barely keep the tears from forming in her green eyes. She never let any crewmen or anyone else see her in tears but Liara was another matter completely. She had always teased how she could be a big baby sometimes when she was around her asari. Shepard intertwined her fingers with Liara's free hand. She smiled softly at her before giving her big kiss._

Shepard laughed at the memory now. She could hardly believe that was before they defeated the reapers and they hadn't at a clue if any of the two were going to live to see this day. Liara looked at Shepard, questioning why she was laughing. Shepard moved over to Liara and gave her a small kiss on the lips. Shepard saw that it gave her bondmate a smile so she gave her another. Longer and deeper this time. Eventually they were lost in each other. They found themselves on the bed, shedding their clothes. _Dirty talk will be interesting tonight._ Then Shepard burst out laughing at the thought that made Liara sit up and stare at her. That didn't help Shepard's laughing fit. In response, Liara gave Shepard a playful slap on her naked torso. She was then about to get up from Shepard when hands grab her hips, encouraging her to stay put. Shepard gave her a toothy grin, trying not to continuing her laughing.

"We may not know what we're saying to each other exactly. We don't need words to show our love for each other. I love you Liara T'soni". Shepard reassured her lover.

"I love you too" Liara replied in English. She grinned when that brightened her bondmate's face. They then started in a passionate kiss before the real fun began.


	12. Chapter 12, prt 1

**April 11th, 2189**

Shepard was walking through the Silverstrip on her way back from the Human embassies. She wasn't in the best mood because of the amount of bullshit she had to work out at the embassies. She walked like she wasn't to be fucked with, which was honestly true. Soon she'll be home and she could relax and forget about the day. Kick back her feet, watch a movie with Liara, snuggle with her 3 year old daughter. She smiled at the thought of that her new family made her day worth it. She finally got to the apartment door and unlocked the door. She walked in and laid her N7 jacket on the nearby couch. "Hey Liara, I'm home". As she looked around the apartment in front of her, she noticed that her apartment was dark. So she walked over to the nearby wall control and flipped on the lights. All of the sudden, there was a sound behind her coming from the kitchen. She chuckled. _She thinks she can scare me? Thee Commander Shepard being startled? Ha!_ She quickly turned around to be utterly surprised. There in her kitchen was her whole crew and friends staring at her. Once she turned around and saw them they yelled 'surprise!' Shepard's jaw dropped, not knowing what to say. She knew it was her birthday today but she hardly thought that her friends and crew would throw her a birthday party. Then she saw Liara with Ashe with a party hat on. She smiled at the two. _Of course, who else would be able to keep this whole thing a secret._ Shepard walked towards her friends and crew greeting everyone and smiling the whole time. Once she got over to Liara, she kissed her bondmate on the cheek.

"Gee, you can certainly surprise me". Shepard stated. Liara smiled at Shepard mischievously.

"I know" Liara replied in response. Garrus then walked up to the two with his awkward turian smile.

"Figured you'd need to relax a little. Besides, the last time we did this we had a lot of fun". Shepard smiled at her friend.

"I sure do. Politicians always give me a bad headache. At least the only headache I'll be getting is from too many beers" Shepard replied jokingly. Then Wrex with his big voice chipped in. "That's the spirit Shepard. Glad some things don't change and maybe this time me and Grunt can see who's the better Krogan" Wrex looked over at Grunt who was giving the older krogan a narrowed look. "Careful old geezer, you may throw out your back. Hehehe" Grunt laughed. "Ha! We'll see about that welp!" Shepard rolled her eyes at the two. "Remember guys, I don't want to buy new furniture". Liara walked over to the counter to where Shepard's cake was.

"Speaking of buying, I bought you a cake. Since my experience doesn't exactly cover on how to make a cake. So I went to a local bakery and bought you one. Requested that it should be a 'N7 Cake' as suggested by Vega". Liara smiled at her bondmate, looking for reassurance that this was what she would've wanted. Shepard smiled back, "It's perfect Liara. Thank you and everyone here. Then they all heard the front door open and closed and a voice that was way too familiar to Shepard. "Don't forget the Serrice Ice Brandy!" _Dr. Chakwas!_ Shepard walked into the living room to see the woman holding up a few bottles of Serrice Ice Brandy. Shepard crossed her arms with a smirk on her face. "Dr. Chakwas, are you sure that your not going to pass out like the first time we did this, since you know, we got more Brandy this time?" Karin chuckled at her friend. "I'll have you know that I'm probably the only one on the ship who can out drink you, Commander" She said in a smuggish tone.

"Oh you are on Chakwas! No one can out drink me, _especially_ on my birthday" Shepard accepted the doctor's challenge. Liara rolled her eyes in the kitchen. She looked over at Aethyta who was holding Ashe. "You are going to be sober to take care of our daughter, yes?" Her father nodded, "Yeah, if things get a little too rowdy we'll go bunk at my place. Have fun kid, you need it" Liara nodded back at her. She knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer so she decided that she was going to enjoy herself at the party. Maybe even try to join in this challenge Shepard and Chakwas was making up. "Shepard, don't forget, we need to sing you happy birthday" Shepard shook her head in response. "Aren't I a little too old for a birthday song?" Liara wittily replied, "Says that human that is only 34. When I was your age, I was still living with Benezia" Shepard hold up her hands in defense, "says the 112 asari who is too smug for her own good" They both smiled at each other until Aethyta interrupted. "Are you two going to make out or get this over with?" Liara blushed a little as Garrus started singing the birthday song that he memorised. Soon the whole crew was singing, some of them were even off key like Wrex and grunt. That didn't matter too much to Shepard, although she might sometime in the future give them shit for it. After the singing was concluded she cut the cake. Afterwards, they handed their presents to Shepard. Some of them were wrapped in traditional wrapping paper, some was not. Garrus gave Shepard a gun mod for her pistol that she carries around with her as much as she can. Wrex gave her some pyjak meat so that she can make some stew with it later. He claimed that there wasn't very many gift stores on Tuchanka. Tali got her a new and more advanced Omni tool, which she lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw it. Grunt, as always gave her amno for her pistol. Samantha gave her a cool chess board that looked similar to the one in her cabin. Samara gave her a few books to add to her collection on the bookshelf near the pool table. The most important gift that Shepard received was from her daughter. It was a handmade drawing. On it was a drawing of what looked like Shepard, Liara and Ashe all holding hands with smiles on their faces. Shepard was about to tear up when she looked at her daughter and smiled, "Ashe, this is wonderful! You look like you're going to be an artist some day. How about, I hand this up on the fridge for a while until I get it framed. Then we can hang it up somewhere it will be the first thing people see? How about that?" Her daughter's face glowed with excitement. She was so worried that her father wouldn't approve of her drawing for whatever reason. When she found out that she did more than any of her other presents, she could feel her small heart bursting with excitement and love. This was all the encouragement that she needed to draw more. Shepard walked over to the fridge and hung it up with a magnet. Everyone else got a good look at it and complimented on how nice the drawing was. Shepard smiled at all of them for being so nice to her daughter. She had gotten used to the fact that her friends love her daughter just as much as they love their commander. She then turned to her wife, "So what did _you_ get me?" Shepard gave her a small smirk

"That is for later" Liara grins mischievously. Then Garrus interrupted the awkwardness that was filling the room. "So Shepard, aren't you going to show us how to do this 'Beer Pong?' Some kinda of human drinking game" Shepard turned her attention to her friend and excitedly got some red paper cups from one of the cabinets and a small ball. She then cleared the large dining table and set up the game for her friends. Liara smiled at the sight of Shepard enjoying herself. The doctor then decided to sit and watch her bondmate do humanly things she couldn't quite understand. She didn't care if she did or not, she lover her human and every humanly thing she does. Even this birthday party, with cake with candles on top, presents, singing happy birthday.

* * *

 **Sorry for being a month late on this one. I'm splitting this one up in 2 parts. I'll try to get onto prt. 2 asap. In the meantime, I got finals coming up so probably not this week. We'll see. Taking the summer off so expect some more chapters coming sooner rather than later. (I could possibily be going to leave this chapter just a regular chapter if I can't think of anything creative)**


	13. Chapter 12, prt 2

**10 Hours later.**

The Normandy crew and friends were winding down the night with reminiscing about this and that. Some old funny stories between missions, throughout the years. Some of the Normandy crew passed out all through the apartment. Aethyta and Ashe was already far from the party. As for the Commander, she was sleeping on her white couch in front of the big TV monitor. With soft music playing in the background, Liara walked over to her wife with a smile forming. She hardly had a single drink at the party. One reason is keeping an eye on her daughter until she went with her grandmother elsewhere. She leaned over Shepard admiring how messy she can get at times. She was at least thankful that Shepard was more mellow when she drank.

"Shepard, hun. It's time for bed" Liara said softly. Shepard groaned in protest. "It's my birfday, L. I can sleep wherever I wanna!" Liara chuckled. "I don't think the all mighty commander would want to wake up with markings on her forehead. I can personally guarantee that will happen if you stay on this couch" Shepard opened one of her eyes at Liara. "You wouldn't dare" Liara grinned in response. "Okay! Ffffine!" The Commander got up drunkenly and stumbled into Liara's arms. "I may need sssome help" Shepard blushed. Liara swung Shepard's left arm around her neck. Liara wrapped her free arm around Shepard's waist for support. Then they both headed towards their bedroom upstairs. Some of the crew noticed and said goodnight. Shepard turned to the rest of her apartment and yelled, "Your all mighty Commander ssshalll retire for the night! I bid you all well. GRUNT! Don't eat any of my lamps while I'm sssleeping!" A few laughs came out after her announcement. Cortez raised his beer class, "Goodnight Commander! Good luck" He smirked and Shepard just waved him off smiling herself.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, Liara locked the door behind them. She guided Shepard to the bed who collapsed instantly in exhaustion. Liara helped Shepard take off her clothes off so she can sleep comfortably. She undid her shoes then began taking her pants off leaving her wife with only her boxer shorts. She laid everything on the ground not in a specific place. _I'll pick them up in the morning._ She climbed on top of her lover and softly rested on her hips. She undid Shepard's button shirt. Shepard groaned when Liara had to pull the shirt off of her shoulders. Then Liara slowly stripped off her white tank top. She threw that with the rest of Shepard's outfit. She started to get her bra off until Shepard grabbed her hands. Both of them smiled mischievously at each other. Then Shepard spoke up, "Liara, I'm...drunk. You wouldn't take _advantage_ of little ol' meee, would you?" Liara chuckled at her. "No, I suppose not. But I do know how to take care of my girl" She leaned down to tease Shepard's lips. Her breath smelled like alcohol and chocolate cake.

"Being on top of me is 'taking care' of your girl?" Shepard grinned. Liara huffed in response.

"Yes, now either lay on your stomach or on your side just in case you throw up. I'll go get the trash can from the bathroom so you have a target" With that Liara got off of Shepard and headed into the bathroom to retrieve the can. Shepard undid her bra and moved up towards the pillows. She sat up and waited for Liara to come back. Swiftly, Liara returned with the trash can and sat it beside Shepard's side of the bed. Then she looked up at Shepard who had only her boxers on. She savored the sight for a few seconds. Then she crawled over Shepard to her own side of the bed. Shepard smirked at her, "Oh, I almost forgot Liara. You never gave me your presssent. Soooo...what is it?" She leaned towards Liara's neck, pecking her with small kisses. She chuckled and got up from the bed. Shepard watched Liara walk over to their dresser with a questioning look. Liara pulled something out from the drawer and turned around with the present behind her back.

"Close your eyes hun" Liara smiled at her. Shepard obeyed her wife, smirking. She heard the silent footsteps come towards her. Liara sat beside her bondmate and put the present into Shepard's hands. "Open your eyes now" Shepard did and she saw a large black and red collar. She turned it over in her hands and saw that it was a N7 dog collar. Shepard gasped in excitement. She eventually looked at Liara, "What's is this for, love?" Liara laughed in response.

"It's a dog collar. I know you love dogs but you also love Varren. If, and _only_ if, you find a varren that you can trust around Ashe. You can get one and use this collar" Liara smiled at Shepard who was more or less shocked.

"You're letting me get a _varren_?!" Shepard said with a shocked face. Liara nodded. Then Shepard, in her drunken happiness, attacked Liara with a hug. Shepard's weight caught Liara off guard and knocked both back. Shepard smiled as she moved on top of Liara more comfortably.

"Thank you, Liara. This is a great gift. I love you." Shepard caress Liara's cheek. Liara purred, "I love you, too"


End file.
